Into the Unknown
by Innocent Gurl
Summary: Hermione finds herself trapped in Tom Riddle's time with a hand mirror and her wand as the only links back to the present. She goes through an adventure she never would have imagined and finds herself...having interesting conversations with Tom Riddle.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Harry Potter.

CHAPTER ONE

* * *

"Lumos," Hermione muttered as she slowly crept across the vacant library. She squirmed slightly, her eyes immediately darting uneasily at the double doors. Then, for what seemed like the tenth time, she checked to make sure she was completely hidden under the invisibility cloak. 

As she ambled past several rows of books, Hermione pleaded silently, "Harry, Harry, please do not notice your cloak is missing."

Normally, Hermione wasn't into midnight wanderings; after all she is the Head Girl. However, tonight, she was in a rather adventurous mood, which was probably why she couldn't sleep. So, after many different and futile tries, she gave up, threw herself agitatedly out of bed and took Harry's cloak that he had left earlier and rather conveniently, in her room.

"I am the Head Girl," She told herself calmly as she consulted her watch. "If I get caught, I'll just say I was making sure no one is out of bed." It was part truth anyways.

Hermione's eager eyes wandered toward the restricted section, her fingers itching to yank a book off the shelves, but she knew it wasn't that simple. Sighing loudly, she ran her fingers absentmindedly across the old spines while wondering what to do.

Hermione stared curiously at the spine of a random book, squinting to see what the title was. After all, if she actually planned to _take_ a book, she might as well choose a good one. Her eyes scanned hastily across the rows, searching for a title that would interest her. After a few minutes, she suddenly heard a movement from the other side of the library. Hermione scowled, pivoting around anxiously, straining to hear who it was.

A small scratching noise came from the corner of the library. After a few seconds, the scratching ceased. Hermione stood still, concentrating.

_Meow. _

"Ms. Norris!" she muttered underneath her breath.

"Nox," Hermione hurriedly whispered and walked briskly towards the entrance/exit door. However, she came to an immediate halt as she noticed Ms. Norris stalking rather possessively around it.

Hermione groaning inwardly; she had been in the library for only ten minutes and now she must leave. Yet, she quickly dismissed the thought as she heard the shuffling sound of heavier footsteps coming closer.

"What is it my sweet?" A low voice whispered harshly.

Filch.

Alarmed, she quickly ran across the room, past the many tables and unfortunately tripped over the leg of a skew chair and went sprawling onto the rug with a dull thud.

"Who's there?"

"Darn, darn, DARN!" Hermione thought fretfully. She got up and hastily arranged the cloak again. Hermione tried frantically to think of something as he came nearer and nearer to where she was standing.

"I know you are in here. There is no point in hiding. Show yourself!"

Hermione dashed towards the nearest wall, stood as still as she could and tried not to breathe loudly. For a split second she wished she hadn't gone out in the first place. Sides aching, she listened and waited. Finally to her relief, Filch changed directions.

She slowly inched across the wall, praying all the while that Filch and his horrid cat wouldn't hear her movements. She unhurriedly felt the solid wall behind her for a door. Feeling the cold, round surface of a doorknob, she turned it effortlessly, slipping quickly through the door and gently closed it, forgetting that there was supposed to be only one doorway in the library.

**:-:-:-:**

"Lumos!" she whispered for the second time. She gasped, looking momentarily appalled.

Blackened oak coffee tables lined the sides of a medium-sized room, each covered with statuettes and small, miscellaneous items. Large paintings hung majestically on the walls with eye-catching tapestries of silver and gold lamé. Hermione stood rooted on the ground as she gaped at the decorations in front of her.

She walked cautiously across the ancient room, strangely feeling like she was intruding. Scanning the room, the back wall caught her eye. Three large, oval mirrors hung secluded, almost hidden behind heavy, thick curtains. She peered into the middle one and saw herself glancing curiously back. "What else what it possibly show?" She muttered, giggling softly at her silly thought. She smiled slightly, twirling giddily in front of the large mirror. She was getting more excited at her discovery and eagerly ran to inspect the statues.

_Swaiiiittck_

She suddenly jumped back with surprise as she felt something crack under her left foot.

"Oh! What is a hand mirror doing on the ground?" Hermione wondered out loud, picking it up tenderly as if it was a child and examined it thoroughly. It was about the size of her palm and adorned with small gold symbols on the back. On the handle there were strange engravings and pictures.

Hermione sighed miserably as she carefully stroked the cracked glass with her fingers. "Luck just isn't on my side today."

She glanced wretchedly into the broken mirror. A few seconds later, a sudden blast of cold air came from behind, causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand up and her frame to shake. Surprised, she was on the verge of turning when she felt an unexpected, strong push from behind. Screaming in horror, she squeezed her eyes shut, clawing desperately for something to cling to as she felt herself falling.

Voices muttering, delighted laughter and hopeless crying suddenly pounded her ears. The unbearable sounds grew louder as she fell.

_Why do I feel like I'm falling slowly?_

In the state of complete panic, a sane part of her wondered why she hasn't felt the impact of the ground, wondered why the temperature suddenly rose, wondered why she could not open her eyes.

A pair of hands grabbed her shoulders.

She opened her eyes fearfully to find herself staring into a pair of dark eyes.

"Are you alright?"

Hermione screamed, blinked blearily, feeling dizzy as she trembled nonstop from the scare.

"What? Who is talking to me..." She thought hazily, her heart thumping fast against her chest.

Not waiting for an answer, the person continued curiously, "You must be new girl. My name is Tom Riddle and you are?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything related to Harry Potter.

CHAPTER 2

* * *

Hermione's head felt as if it had been used for a bludger. 

She blinked, coughing harshly. Since when did dreams hurt? Then, she remembered who had caught her fall.

Tom Riddle?

Right.

It must have been an invention of her sleep deprived mind, Hermione concluded as she backed away awkwardly from the person and struggled to keep her eyes open from the strain of the...sun? She felt as if she had been blinded and rubbed her eyes with closed fists and squinted, trying to focus her eyes on the hazy figure in front of her.

"Oh, um, thank you, I'm Hermione Gran..."

She stopped in mid sentence and sniffed the air inquiringly, frowning at the lingering fruity smell she certainly didn't recognize. The stranger who had helped her, smiled slightly and Hermione stared, transfixed at his foreign face and attire.

"Hello, Hermione," He said calmly, smiling just enough to see pearly white teeth a dentist would be proud of. "That was a bad fall. Though I don't blame you, it must been nauseous riding _that _ship."

Ship?

"This is definitely a very strange dream," Hermione thought idly. She pivoted around to see an endless body of water. Sure enough, there also was a ship; an extremely gallant yet battered looking one. She then noticed a balding man on the deck grinning madly at her, waving a large wine bottle frantically.

"I'm not delusional," Hermione repeated to herself. No. Definitely not delusional...

She blinked rapidly and told herself rather unconfidently that was all a dream, only a dream.

* * *

Not too far away from the two students were Professor Dumbledore and Headmaster Dippet whom were standing side by side, conversing rather excitedly while observing. If there were any passerby to hear part of their conversation, they would catch these words: Ah…crazy captain. Gryffindor. Impossible! Head Girl? Her name is Hermione Granger.

* * *

Hermione turned away from the ship and scanned the surroundings. As far as she could see, the white, sandy beach seemed to stretch the length of the island, blending into clear water. Every once in awhile, waves roared and crashed down onto the hot beach, sending streams of white foam rushing toward her, before hissing and retreating back into the endless blue of the ocean.

Hermione smiled to herself and thought, "What a lovely dream! Its too bad it won't last long."

"Beautiful place isn't it?" A soft voice asked while the person walked past her.

Hermione jumped in surprise, turning around to see the Tom Riddle person there.

"Er… yes, its lovely." She responded hesitantly as he sat on a large, plaid cloth that had previously been laid out on the beach. Hermione eyed him suspiciously, but reasoned there was no harm in answering imaginary characters. She frowned as she shoved her hands into her cloak pockets; her voice sure sounded real. However, she dismissed the thought almost immediately when she felt something long and smooth in her right pocket.

Her wand.

Odd.

Her eyebrows furrowed, as she felt something else in her pocket, something flat and cold. Hermione choked as she recalled the room with the mirror, she clutched at the wand tightly as panic settled in her heart. Thoughts immediately began to rampage her mind and she shivered, a voice suspiciously like her mother's, spoke calmly in her head, "This is no dream..."

"Ms. Gran," A voice said quietly beside her. Hermione jumped for the second time and whipped around to see a pair of familiar twinkling eyes. "Headmaster Dumbledore?"

"Its professor, Ms. Gran, I teach Transfiguration. I do apologize for the short notice. Headmaster Dippit and I pleased you got here in time though. I hope you enjoyed your ride here and didn't get seasick along the way." He smiled, then turned and nodded to Tom Riddle, "Oh yes, Tom, please go get the others."

Tom Riddle left without a word and Hermione felt even more confusion. Professor Dumbledore? Headmaster Dippit? Tom Riddle?

It was all a bloody conspiracy against her.

She did note vaguely that Dumbledore looked younger...but just as she was about to ask something, Dumbledore glanced at her seriously over his spectacles and said, "Hermione Granger, it's a pleasure meet you. I have no idea how this had happened! From the looks of your cloak and badge, you are a Hogwarts's student. However, I don't believe I've ever seen you before."

"I'm from Hog-the future, professor." Hermione replied, while wringing her hands nervously in front of her, "I, I don't know what happened professor. See, I just touched this mirror and somehow I landed here. Professor... where is this?"

Dumbledore looked startled as he glanced at the mirror Hermione had handed over. He peered into the mirror, arched a brow and answered, "Hmm...the future…most extraordinary! Well, Ms. Granger, I unfortunately can't do anything for you at the moment. Perhaps you were sent here for…why don't you give me this tomorrow and I'll examine it to see what magical properties it may contain. Right now, we are on Hensi Island. Also... ah, Tom, you are back!"

There were still thousands of questions bubbling in Hermione's mind, but she decided it'd have to wait and twisted slightly to see four students her age following closely behind Tom Riddle.

"Now that you are all here, I'd like to introduce someone. This is Hermione Gran, our HeadGirl for this year," Dumbledore stated.

Upon hearing the words HeadGirl, the Slytherin heir scrutinized her in the corner of his eye, his face not showing any thoughts.

One of the girls with alarming red hair (Hermione suspected it wasn't her true hair color) stared at Hermione coldly and sniffed loudly. The other gave Hermione a welcoming, toothy grin and a perky wave. The boys stood behind her. One of them shifted around every few seconds, like a child with attention deficiency disorder, Hermione's eyes widened as she saw the other boy. "Oh. my-" She muttered with surprise. The other boy was about an inch taller than her and resembled...a certain Slytherin, blond ferret.

Her whirlwind of thoughts were interrupted as a grizzled and stern looking man, whom Hermione assumed was Headmaster Dippit, walked briskly over to them and beamed, "As you all know, we are here on Hensi Island to study and explore the area. All of the things you are to do are in these scrolls, which I will hand out. Out of the whole school, only the five of you were chosen. Professor Dumbledore and I expect you all to be mature and work together. Please follow these directions." With that said, he quickly passed out a scroll to everyone.

Hermione stared at the parchment blankly, the wordsswarming in front of her eyes; it seemed too much to take in. She cast her eyes upon the heavens as ifwishing the answer to her questions. The bright blue, endless sky was her only response. Shaking her head, Hermione lowered her head to finish reading.

* * *

**Next chapter: **Hermione gets to know her new fellow students and learns quite a few disturbing things... 

**A/N: **Hello everyone! Unexpected events? As much as I enjoy all the fics going back into the past, I feel like there needs to be more fics where the characters go somewhere else other than only at Hogwarts. So I decided to try something new, what do think?

**Thanks to: **Tennis Angel, Lady Evanescence, Blueberry-Gurl (lol, your e-mail was very amusing), Cattt, CeruleanShowers, daichi, NeOn, x Raya, Rea, one crimson tie (Thank you so much for your comments and suggestions, they were very helpful.), and liz 1 for reviewing!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** Owns the plot...nothing else

**CHAPTER 3

* * *

**

_Your first task is to find Glovesea Herbs. You all have learned from Herbology that these aromatic plants are red with a hint of green and very stringy shaped. As I have mentioned before, it is a vital ingredient in the potion you will all be making. Although they are rather exiguous, there should be enough to fill all of your jars. Remember to stay on the trails and please… do work together! Each and every one of you were selected because Professor Dumbledore and I felt that you all were worthy and responsible... do not let us doubt your abilities._

Hermione sighed, lifting her 'supposed' suitcase onto her full sized bed. The aged cabin was small but at least it was comfortable and quite homey. There was a separate dorm for the boys and a dorm for the girls. Hermione was still quite upset with situation and the whole 'get to know your roommates' ordeal added to her unpleasant experience.

It was stifling silent in the room while the girls unpacked and the occasional cursing from the redhead fueled the tension even more. Hermione silently concluded that her two roommates weren't the best of friends either as they both ignored each other's presence. The redhead, whose name Hermione later found out was Stella, grumbled again, muttering darkly about indecent bed sheets.

Hermione took out a pile of clothing from her suitcase and examined them, somehow not surprised that they fitted her perfectly. The whole situation was still extremely bizarre and unclear, but she fully trusted that the Dumbledore in this time could find a way back to her time. For now, the professor had suggested, 'act as you normally would'.

"Easier said than done!" Hermione thought grouchily.

Having Stella, as a roommate was rather unsettling as the girl occasionally glared at Hermione for no apparent reason. Hermione sighed again, disgruntled as she tried in vain to yank out her oversized pillow, which was squashed at the bottom of a medium suitcase. After a few futile yanks and tugs and the pillow still refused to budge, Hermione was ready to give up.

"Hello, need any help?" a voice asked genially beside her.

Hermione jumped, she had forgotten the other girl in the room. Hermione turned to her left to see the girl who smiled and waved at her earlier. The girl had already unpacked and was sitting cross-legged on the center of her bed, a star-shaped button on her black robe read,

MARIA D.

"Yes, please," Hermione said as Maria hopped over and helped her pull.

Stella watched them from behind a small book she was reading, snickering softly at their attempts. Both Hermione and Maria disregarded her and finally with a furious yank, Hermione had her pillow out.

"Well, thanks!'' Hermione said gratefully as she smiled at her helper.

"No problem. By the way, I'm Maria Davis, from Ravenclaw." She said cheerily, pointing proudly at her blue button.

"Nice to meet you." Hermione said genuinely. Hermione smiled, feeling in higher spirits that she may have found a new friend. Maria opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by a sharpknock on the door.

"Girls, you've got five more minutes!" Headmaster Dippit called loudly.

Hermione nodded to herself. "Five more minutes before the first task," She thought distractedly.

Then, she and Maria began talking while they packed their bags for the task. Hermione found Maria easy to talk to and instantly liked her. Until the third year, Maria had gone to Beauxbatons, than transferred when her parents found new jobs at the Ministry. Maria also has an older sister who had graduated from Hogwarts last year. Once, during the conversion, Maria asked about Hermione's family and Hermione, not wanting to reveal the truth, just said she didn't want to be reminded of home.

Stella who was on Hermione's right hadn't spoken at all, only occasionally staring at them. Hermione, hoping they too could become friends, asked tentatively, "What book are you reading, Stella?"

Stella snapped her book shut and stiffly replied, "Uses of Various Magical Herbs."

"Really?" Hermione said brightly. "That's a really good and very useful book"

"Not particularly."

Hermione frowned and stated disappointedly, "Oh, well that was just my opinion. So what do you"

Hermione never got the chance to finish her question, for Stella gave an annoyed huff, shoved her book hastily into her already packed bag and stomped out.

Hermione blinked in surprise while Maria glared.

"Don't worry about her, " she shrugged apathetically. "Stella's always like that. She thinks anyone not in Slytherin isn't worth talking to. None of her friends were chosen for this though. Tom, Xavier, and her are the only Slytherins chosen. The blond haired boy is Xavier Malfoy, I don't know much about him, except I heard he's pretty spoiled. The other guy you saw was Steve Wilkes. He's the only Hufflepuff, but really, he's a really interesting person. "

Maria paused, frowning and then continued, "Funny though, he was all nervous like on the boat and yesterday."

Maria checked her bag one last time and smiled at Hermione, "Okay, ready!"

Hermione nodded, deep in thought. As they walked outside, she asked curiously, "Is Stella just normally like this?"

Maria gave the question some thought and replied nonchalantly, "Oh, well, I suppose you being Head Girl might have something to do with it."

* * *

Hermione ducked under a stray branch, waving little bugs away from her arms. She didn't have the foggiest idea why the professors had them walking in the forest and then on the sand. Even thought the group was shielded from the blazing sun here, the short cut through the forest was harder. The trail clearly hadn't been used for a while; for the group had to walk over several large, fallen tree trunks. Occasionally, they used spells to get rid of wild plants that blocked their way. Some which were quite repugnant smelling. The headmaster and professors obviously wanted to test their skills as well. Despite the difficulties, some members of the group managed to converse with each other. Stella was talking quietly to Xavier who was looking rather blasé while Maria was chatting nonstop to Steve about school. 

"Charms class is the best!" Steve said enthusiastically, using a quick charm to get rid of a shrieking crimson plant.

"Yeah, I like it too," Maria replied happily, beaming at Steve.

Hermione smiled and turned away from them and instead looked forward, to where Tom Riddle was walking slightly ahead of everyone else. Hermione frowned; she hadn't really talked to him yet and felt slightly relieved about it too. She didn't know what _kind words_ to say to a soon to be Lord Voldemort.

After a quarter of an hour of walking, they finally came to small spot where a big patch of messy and stringy plants dwelled. Tom bent down and yanked one up, examining its appearance.

"These are it," He said finally and the whole group gave a collective sigh, squatted and started picking and sticking them into their own jars. They worked diligently in silence, each deep in their own thoughts. Hermione glanced over to Xavier Malfoy, who was continuously muttering about stupid and worthless tasks. She grinned; it really wasn't hard to see the resemblance between him and the ferret.

Hermione smiled to herself, thinking what Harry and Ron would say if they saw where she was and what she's doing. Ron would have-

_Harry and Ron_

Hermione's smile immediately faded away as she felt homesick all of the sudden. People's faces popped up inside her mind; her parents, the professors, and her classmates. She wondered if they knew she was missing, if the present time continued when she was gone, and... Hermione bit her lip, her hand shaking as she picked a herb. She was feeling extremely guilty for taking Harry's invisibility cloak.

She frowned, startled, as she realized that she hadn't seen the invisitbility cloak with her when she mysteriously got into this time! Hermione continued to ponder on this until...

Suddenly Steve yelped loudly, causing Hermione to jump and Maria to drop her jar and spill all her mushrooms.

Hermione bent down to help her as Steve stuttered"I, I, er." Everyone turned and stared at him. Steve suddenly aware of everyone's attention at him and stammered again"I, I left some of our bags over there and and... "

"And what," Stella hissed, her eyes flashing in annoyance. Hermione raised her head up and smiled at Steve, "What's wrong?"

"Yes, what is wrong?" Salazar's heir smiled darkly.

"Well Ileftsomeofourbagsoverthereandnowtheydisappeared." He said hastily, eyes darting around at everyone's reaction.

There was a moment of silence as everyone stared at him.

The first to recover was Xavier, who spluttered indignantly, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY DISAPPEARED?"

"Well, I left them there and...now they're gone," Steve replied, frightened as he pointed at a large tree trunk, which was quite a distance away from the trail.

Everyone stared at him again but no one said anything. Steve cringed, glancing around as if preparing to run. "I know I shouldn't have but I..."

Tom Riddle rolled his eyes and said coolly, "Well, what can you expect from a Hufflepuff? I'm glad I held on to mines."

Hermione scowled at him and involuntarily checked her side; relieved she had hers.

"Are you sure you left it there?" Maria asked desperately. Steve nodded weakly, shrinking away from Xavier's piercing glare.

"Well, go see if it's around the tree trunk!" Xavier snarled as he started pacing around Steve. Steve nodded quickly and hurried over. The rest of the group waited and after a few minutes, Steve called over sheepishly, "Sorry, I, I actually put them behind this bush."

Silence.

Hermione and Maria exchanged relieved looks, picked up their jars and walked over to where he was standing.

Tom followed slowly, his face contorted with disgust, "Merlin, imagine what the rest of the Hufflepuff House must be like! So tell me, what caused the Headmaster to decide to choose_ you?_" Xavier and Stella whom were walking behind him chortled while Steve turned a bright shade of red.

Hermione frowned at him and came to Steve's defense. "He just forgot, its no reason to be so mean."

Stella sneered, "Sticking up for the poor boy, aren't you?"

"Well, " Maria snapped. "Both of them added up are better than you"

Stella turned to her and opened her mouth to retort, but before she could say anything, Tom let out a genuine sounding laugh, Hermione might have actually found the laugh pleasant if not for the current situation. "Calm now Stella, she's right. I shouldn't have said that, instead I should have said it later when he forgets something worst, like his name perhaps, " He smirked infuriatingly at Hermione.

Xavier and Stella laughed while Maria fumed and Hermione clenched her fists as she stared at the Heir of Slytherin in silent fury. Tom Riddle was everything she knew he would be. Infuriating, horrible, arrogant, and...and a complete_ git_! Steve looked down at his feet, pretending to be interested at the ground when he suddenly spotted something shiny.

"Bloody hell, look at this everyone!" he quickly exclaimed, hoping to change the subject. In his hands, he held an old rusted compass.

The next few events went rather quickly and...disastrous. In fact, the group was going to be in that place for only another 10 seconds and this is how it went:

10s-Someone or something bumps into Stella.

9s-Stella starts falling, grabs for the nearest person.

7s-Stella grabs hold of Maria.

6s-Maria bumps into both Tom Riddle and Xavier.

4s-Steve suddenly taps Hermione's shoulder.

3s-Hermione is trying to untangle everyone.

1s-Hermione feels a disturbingly familiar tug at her navel.

* * *

**Next Time: **I think you might realize... 

**A/N: **Weeeeee. All right, I'm so sorry for not updating so long. Nearly two months! Since I took such a long time, I decided to treat you all with a long chapter! I will be changing the first chapter this week as well; I realized I could have done a much better job at writing it, so probably this weekend you guys can take a look and tell me what you think.

I will also be working on my other story, 'Teddy Bear Love' too, which is a Draco/Hermione story. Although the name sounds cute, my plans for are not going to be fluff for a while.

**Other Notes:**

**Emily: **Ah, yes, about Tom Riddle and Dumbledore, if you look back at chapter 2 you will notice that Tom simply did what Dumbledore said when Dumbledore asked him to get the others. Also later on when Dumbledore said, "...ah, Tom, you are back", Dumbledore said it just to acknowledge him but he didn't know that Hermione knew Tom Riddle in the future. Dumbledore is suspicious of him but there isn't anything he can do about Tom. I'm glad that you noticed this though!

**CeruleanShowers: **LOL, thanks for e-mailing. Does this chapter answer your question?

**Big thanks to:** Emily, Raya Lupin, Tennis Angel, Rea, Bluberry-Gurl, Merja, mdemanatee, Malikfan66, Hermionefan03, kura52, cutemouse, CeruleanShowers, kas, WeasleyGirl-Yeah, sunny, Cheri, and Taren.

Chocolates to all!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any characters from Harry Potter. Original characters play minimal roles.

CHAPTER 4

* * *

"Ron, have you seen my invisibility cloak?" Harry whispered as the two best friends sat down for dinner. 

"Huh? Oh. No I haven't." Ron replied, turning around after bonking Seamus hard on the head. "What, is it missing or something?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, you probably just stuck it somewhere in our dorm." Ron said absentmindedly, using his fork to create simple pictures of ferrets in his mashed potatoes. Than he stopped to admired his handiwork before stabbing them callously and devouring them.

"No, it isn't there." Harry said agitatedly while massaging his temples. " The last time we used it was when we snuck to the kitchens and than went to Hermione's room."

"Well than, maybe Hermione has it." Ron shrugged as he attacked his roast chicken.

"Yeah, but we haven't seen her all day!" Harry answered unhappily while poking at his food. He nudged the morsels randomly on his plate, finding his appetite had somewhat left him.

"I know." Ron agreed sullenly. "You don't suppose she's been in the library for all this time?"

"Nah. I mean she said she'll meet us at The Three Broomsticks but we never saw her."

"Also," Harry continued, his brows drawn together. . "Ginny and Parvati couldn't find her and you know that fifth year girl she's tutoring? Well, she told me that Hermione never showed up."

Ron gulped a swig of pumpkin juice and glanced around worriedly. "Do you think we should look for her after dinner?"

Harry nodded.

"Yeah..." Ron reasoned, chewing thoughtfully into his corn. " But you know how girls are. They disappear somewhere and than, bam...they pop up again."

Harry grinned and gave his friend an amused look. "Disappear and than pop up again?"

Ron shrugged, than shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "Yeeeah, but I gotta say, this is a kinda weird...are you sure no one has seen her?"

**:-:-:-:**

"Where in the eight regions of hell are we in?" Xavier spat after elbowing someone hard to untangle himself from the rest of the group.

He scanned the area quickly, "We weren't here before."

"Brilliant deduction, Sherlock." Hermione said sarcastically from her position on the ground as she rubbed ruefully at a recently bruised, elbowed area on her arm. Maria brushed off dirt from her cloak and shot a confused look at Hermione when she heard the word 'Sherlock'. Hermione also caught the Slytherin heir glancing in her direction curiously. Luckily, he made no comment and instead calmly plucked the small compass out of a dazed Steve's grasp and examined it.

"Odd. It's a portkey." He said finally.

Everyone stared.

"What was a damn portkey doing in the middle of nowhere?" Xavier said irately.

Stella shrugged. "Who knows?" She frowned at the dirt all over her coat and said bitterly, "Uggh, the fact that we're stuck in the middle of Merlin knows where is the problem."

Hermione who was as surprised as everyone else, raised her eyebrows. "Why won't it work if we touch it again?" She blurted out as she stood up.

"What do mean?" Stella said irritably, swerving her eyes coldly towards Hermione. "Everyone knows that a portkey can only transport you somewhere and that you have to use a different one to go back!"

Hermione was startled at this bit of information, but quickly covered her expression of surprise and said hastily, "Oh, that's what I meant." _So that's why it didn't transport Tom Riddle!_

Xavier snorted as he surveyed the forest-like area around them but Tom glanced again at Hermione, a thoughtful look on his face.

Steve looked around nervously, as if awaiting someone's wrath to unleash on him. As soon as he realized that no one was blaming him, he asked hestiantly, "So... what are we going to do next?"

Good question.

Hermione scrunched her eyebrows in a moment of thought when a idea came to her. She quickly pulled out her wand, the smooth wood gave her a sense of comfort as she gripped it firmly and said, "Point me!"

Nothing.

"Point me!" Hermione said again, this time a bit louder.

Nothing. Hermione's eyes widened with surprise._ Why isn't it working?_

Tom Riddle slowly took out his wand and said clearly, "Accio wood!"

Nothing.

"Parcia Firna!"

"Nom Delien!"

Difficult spells, simple and average ones, jinxes, charms all tumbled hastily out of their lips, none with any effect. For a brief moment, Hermione and the Tom locked eyes, than the Slytherin heir smoothly pivoted to face the rest of the group.

"It appears that this area is protected from any type of spell...so our wands won't be any use."

"What!?!?!" exclaimed Maria and Xavier simultaneously, both flabbergasted.

Everyone went silent, taking time to sort their thoughts out.

"Well then...does anyone have any ideas?" Steve asked desperately, looking from one person to another.

Stella shot him a nasty look. "This is all your fault. If you haven't been so stupid, we would be back in our cabins and--"

"I hate to break the argument," Tom Riddle interrupted calmly. "...but it is nearing sunset and we need to come up with some solution quick."

They all stood in a depressing and rather awkward silence.

"Perhaps...some of us should stay here and the others should walk in separate directions and see if we're near any familiar area, the beach or any of the professors." Maria spoke up hesitantly.

Xavier glanced at Tom.

Tom Riddle casually scanned the thick forest and nodded. "Xavier and I will go." He took a step forward than paused. He reached into his bag and grabbed a bundle of white ribbons from a container. Than, he handed half to Xavier.

Xavier blinked, staring at the bundle in his hands blankly.

"Tie them to the trees, so we're know how to get back." Tom explained as he started walking away from the group.

Xaiver nodded and than without a backwards glance, whirled around in his swish of robes and cloak and left the opposite way.

**:-:-:-:**

"I got ourselves some firewood." Steve said gruffly as he staggered towards the three girls with the huge amount of weight on his arms.

"Thanks!" Hermione said happily, finally being able to create a small fire with the firestone and wood. She glanced around, her features scrunched in a thoughtful frown. She turned to Maria and voiced her thoughts. "Isn't it peculiar that this place is so clear of trees and big rocks? It's as if someone had camped here before."

Maria took a quick look around, "You're right!" She said in a surprised tone.

"It's getting awfully dark..." Stella suddenly commented worriedly as she searched for anything useful in her bag. "They haven't returned."

Hermione tilted her head slightly to see only a few rays of red-orange sunlight in the increasingly darkening sky. To her surprise, she suddenly did feel a slight unease for them. She would never admit it, but she felt a tinge of worry for both Xavier and Tom Riddle.

"I just thought of something. What if this isn't a portkey and our travel was caused by something else?" Maria asked curiously, squinting hard at the broken compass in her hands.

Steve shrugged, "Who knows?"

"Who cares!" Stella snapped. "I don't give a damn on how we got to this rat hole, I want to find a way back!!!!"

Hermione ignored her and turned to Maria. "I was thinking that since it is so dark and all, we ought to prepare for the night incase no one finds us."

Steve coughed. "Sorry. I accidentally left mines on the tree stump...where we were before we got here... I guess I'll help Maria."

Stella glared, her face contorting into a ugly mask and then she tossed her hair while making a disgusted sound. She walked over to the edge of their camp and sat grumpily on a rock hidden almost in the shadows, her eyes flashing brightly with a touch of ill-concealed hatred.

Maria smiled kindly and beckoned Steve over to where she sat cross-legged while dumping all of her bag's contents onto the ground. Hermione reached into her bag and pulled out two small pocketknives. She smiled, pleased. Than she pulled out two tablecloths, which she realized, could actually be some use in more than one way.

"Are any of you guys hungry?" Maria suddenly inquired. "I've got some biscuits...my mother made some. She thought I would need it..." Than she trailed off, a homesick look on her face.

Hermione glanced at the ground as she tried hard not to think of Hogwarts, Harry and Ron, her parents and most importantly, _her_ time. She wondered silently what might happen if she were never to go back for the thought chilled her immensely. She huddled near the fire to further warm herself. She sat, staring at the dancing flames until she felt something soft and round pressed into her palm. She turned to see a biscuit and Maria smiling at her.

"Eat." Maria gestured flimsily and than walked towards Steve and Stella.

Hermione stared the biscuit, her stomach already growling with hunger. She uncrossed her arms from her chest and without further ado, she ate it. She than pulled out her wand, tracing the wood with her fingers. It was once a source of security, a way to protect herself, but now it seemed useless. She shivered a bit and stuffed her hands deeper into her cloak pocket when Stella suddenly gave a happy yell.

"Tom, Xavier!" Stella shrieked with glee as she rushed to greet two hazy figures approaching their area.

Both of the Slytherins looked extremely tired and from the look of their faces, their journey hadn't been a very successful one. Stella looked expectantly at them both but then Xavier plopped on a mossy log near the fire and spat, "There was nothing."

"Nothing?" Maria echoed skeptically. Steve who before was sitting calmly beside her, exhaled sharply and looking up from his biscuit, horrified.

"Nothing." Tom replied grimly, the orange light of the campfire reflecting color over his pale visage.

"Nothing except a pond." Tom continued, his demeanor calm, collected, and in the depths of his dark brown eyes no emotion could be traced. "Though, I didn't go across."

Hermione watched as he sat down idly, his hair stirred from the slight wind and drooped unappealingly against his perspirating forehead. The Slytherin heir swallowed and let out a smoky breath that rose into the air while his eyes blinked continuously from tiredness. He then turned and glanced around warily, "We need to be careful around here. Once or twice while I was walking, I'm quite sure I heard some rather heavy movements belonging to a pack of some type of animal."

Xavier nodded bleakly. "I did too and-" He paused, staring angrily at the fire. "-none of the professors are around."

In the pearly grayness of the moonlight, the group sat silhouetted against the dim light as they lapsed into silence. The sky suddenly became darker causing Hermione to glance up and see the drifting clouds covering the small crescent moon. A cold wind brushed up against her pallid face, causing the ends of her curly, brown hair to scatter around her face and her cheeks to flush. She rubbed her fingers together, unconsiously moving closer to the only source of heat.

"We will have to stay here for tonight." The Slytherin heir finally stated, confirming everyone's fears.

* * *

**Next Time: **Back at Hogwarts, Harry and Ron finds out Hermione is no where to be seen, professors have no idea what happened...and then the duo decides to do a little investigating of their own. 

**A/N: **Back again. I can't believe I didn't update for such a LONG time! Wow. Well, I finally got chapter 4 up and I promise the next chapter will come out quicker because I'm nearly done writing it. :) Also, you might have noticed that I have changed the title to what I believe is much suitable one.

A couple of people have asked me if this story was going to be a 'romance'. Though the romance is definitely not in the chapters now, I promise there will be. The original characters in the fic have minimal roles so Tom and Hermione action won't be squashed away. :)

**Cookies to: **Taren, Emily, Lady Evanescence, Bluberry-Gurl, cutemouse, Only I, Cheri, Taurusette, Rea, someonelse, Zaralya, kas, Moon Archer, Artemis MoonClaw, Merja, and Anigen.

Thanks, your reviews are awesome!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any characters from Harry Potter. Original characters play minimal roles.

CHAPTER 5

* * *

"Oi, Ginny!!!!!!! DO YOU KNOW WHERE HERMIONE IS?" Ron shouted as he skidded to a halt in front of the Head Girl/Boy's dorm. 

Ginny winced and huffed, "No need to holler Ron, I'm only half a foot away from you!"

The elder redhead blinked twice. "Oh...okay. Do you know where Hermione is?"

"No, I thought she was going with Harry and you to Hogsmeade." Ginny replied, her forehead furrowed with concern.

"Me too," Ron grumbled. " Only she never showed up. I said for-- "

Ron was interrupted as a loud slam of a door shutting came from inside and then a disarrayed Harry walked out, looking bewildered as he ran a hand idly through his hair. "Oh, hey Ginny! Ron, have you guys found her yet?"

The other male growled, "No, that silly girl just disappeared."

"Oh, she probably snuck out last night to go snog with Malfoy." Ginny piped blandly.

Ron and Harry gaped, looking absolutely horrified.

Ginny rolled her eyes and exclaimed hastily, "I'm just kidding!"

Harry immediately relaxed, but Ron glared at his sibling, his face looking slightly on the greenish side and his features twisted into a grimace.

"Um…Ron, are you okay? You look a bit…er, sick." Ginny giggled as she and Harry shared an amused look.

Ron grinned, clutched his chest dramatically and wheezed, "Well, _any_ thought with Malfoy in it makes me sick!"

"Oh, but the Head Girl did go out last night." A voice sang jovially from behind the group.

Ginny and Ron jumped, looking wildly around.

Harry turned towards the portrait guarding the Head's common room and asked with surprise. "You saw her, Isabelle?"

Isabelle smiled slyly at the Head Boy and whispered, "Well, no. I didn't exactly _see_ her but I know she did leave around 3 in the morning, under something invisible."

"Hermione did?" Ginny said, astonished.

Ron paled and let out a guttural groan. "What if you're right Ginny?" What if she really was going to snog Malfoy? What if—"

"So that's what happened to my cloak!" Harry exclaimed triumphantly.. "She took it to…"

Hepaused and looked up at the currently singing portrait. "Do you know where she went, Isabelle?"

Isabelle looked up from a music book and replied with sniff, "Of course, but that's all I know. The poor girl was muttering about the library. I mean really, the library? She ought to work on her singing. Every girl should be good at singing!"

"You're not too good yourself." Ginny muttered underneath her breath.

"She couldn't have possibly been in the library for the whole entire day?!?!" Ron frowned.

Harry sighed and stated simply, "No, but let's check anyway. Thanks for your help Isabelle."

The portrait winked and went back to her singing.

"She sings worse then the Fat Lady…" Ron murmured, shaking his head as the three walked briskly towards the direction of the library.

**:-:-:-:**

"WHAT?!?! This is hell. What the fuc-"

"Mr. Weasley, please refrain from cursing!!" Professor McGonagall scolded sharply above Harry's voice.

"Well, when you're best friend is missing and-"

"Mr. Potter, I would appreciate it immensely if you would stop whining," drawled Professor Snape.

"Harry is right. We can't just _sit_ here while Hermione is in Merlin knows where!" Ginny exclaimed with hands on her hips, the famous Weasley temper arising.

"That's right! Also-"

"That's enough Harry." Dumbledore spoke calmly.

The occupants in Dumbledore's office immediately silenced.

Dumbledore glanced at them all, his expression calm and thoughtful. "Ms. Granger is alive, I'm sure. Where she is and what happened is still a mystery. As you all know, Harry's cloak was found in front of a plain-looking, locked door in the library, in front of a door that not even I knew, existed."

Professor McGonagall looked strainedas she said softly, "Isabelle testified that Ms. Granger did go to the library and never returned to the dorm."

Dumbledore nodded and commented somberly, "Most troubling is the fact that the door can't seem to be opened by any charm or spell we know of."

Harry and Ron gasped simultaneously. A shocked look crossed Ginny's face and she opened her mouth to speak.

"We have, Ms. Weasley," Dumbledore stated tiredly before she was able to talk. " We have already tried to open it by other means, but so far it has been futile."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a little bit as they all chewed over that statement.

"We will of course, always continue to search for her until we find her." Dumbledore continued. He smiled slightly towards the two other adults in the room. "Minerva, Severus, the students will need to be notified that the library will be... ah, temporarily used for teacher discussions and therefore, it will be off limits until further notice."

Both professors nodded, casting quick glances at the three Gryffindors before quietly exiting the office.

Harry slumped against his seat, pushing his spectacles unnecessarily towards his eyes. Ron and Ginny cast a miserable glance at each other. Then all three, looked up at Dumbledore expectantly, as if expecting some good news.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled gently as he patted them all comfortingly on the shoulder and whispered, "Never lose hope."

**:-:-:-:**

"Harry!" Ron hissed, clutching his foot in pain.

"Sorry." A muffled voice replied beside him. "You've got to walk a bit faster Ron."

Ron grumbled grudging, "Invisibility cloaks....the makers could have thought to make them a tad _bigger_."

"Shh...we're here."

The moon peered slightly from behind the midnight clouds as the two friends stopped in front of a regular sized and normal looking door in the library. Ron glanced bewilderedly at it, "Wait...this wasn't here before?"

Harry rolled his eyes as he took the cloak off them both. "No Ron."

"Hmmm...extremely odd, don't you think?" Ron remarked as he attempted uselessly to open the door.

No answer.

"Harry?" Ron whispered with a frown, turning towards his motionless friend.

A strange look was on the Head Boy's face as he gestured Ron to be silent while he squinted uneasily into the darkness of the library.

Minutes passed.

Harry finally spoke, his voice strangled sounding and uncertain, "I thought I saw... something...something in here _with us_."

Ron's breath hitched, he mouthed unintelligible words. "Are you sure?" He whispered nervously, his heart momentarily skipping a beat.

A sudden wave of coldness prevented Harry from replying. He whipped his wand out and held it tightly in front of him, his other hand firmly holding onto Ron's shoulder.

A figure flint across his peripheral vision and quickly disappear into the shadows of the bookshelves.

_CRASH!_

Something hits with a loud thud from behind the door.

_CRASH! CRASH!_

Two more objects join the same fate.

Harry felt his grip suddenly loosening, his knees threatened to give out. Shivers ran up his spine, haziness clouded his vision and numbness spread their way through his body.

"Let's get out of here!" Harry managed to shout hoarsely at a petrified looking Ron.

They both ran as fast as they could, out of the library, never stopping until they reached the safety of the Grffindor tower. Ron yelled the password to a startled Fat Lady and then both he and Harry clamored breathlessly onto a couch.

Ron shuddered, his freckles stood in sharp contrast to his pale face.He was deeply shaken, but the next words said chilled him immensely.

Harry looked ashen as well, his heart thudding furiously against his chest as he tried to collect his words. "There was a thing...a thing...and the thing...I think it smiled at me."

* * *

**A/N: **Yes I know, I know. I hadn't updated in a month, even though in the last chapter I said I'll be updating quickly. The reason was that a friend offered to beta my stories, but she unfortunately never got around to doing so. I probably just won't have a beta for any of my stories, but any constructive criticism is always welcome! :) 

This chapter...um, not much to say except the plot is getting deeper and the rating... may change?

By the way, for some really odd reason, some words clump up when I'm updating changes in chapters. So, if you see squashed sentences like "itneedstosnow", please bear with me cuz I didn't have control over that.

**Other Notes:**

**Dreaming One: **gasp> A D/HR fan! Yay! I totally luv your stories. Thanks for reviewing!

**Ptrst: **TR/HG! :)

**Vera-Sabe: **:Blush: Wow, I can't believe you took the time to write me such a long review! I feel so unworthy of your compliments, especially since it took me so long to update. Thanks!

**Adriane: **I'm really glad you caught those mistakes. I embrace all contructive criticism because it definitely helps me improve. I'm glad you like the story, hope to hear from you. :)

**MerePehlaPyar: **Hmm...interesting idea! I promise I'll look into it.

**Chocolates to: **MerePehlaPyar, Zaralya, adriane, Vera-Sabe, cocoaducks, kittykatekat, Taren, Bluberry-Gurl, topps, Gywnn-Potter, Ptrst, Cheri and Dreaming One

Ah, such wonderful people you all are. I simply adore your reviews.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything related to Harry Potter. Original characters play minimal roles.

CHAPTER SIX

* * *

_A shadow is moving…but where is the light coming from?_

_I'm getting tired, but I can not...succumb_

_So cold, so cold in this dusty corridor_

_What is this strange, strange odor?_

_Footsteps getting louder, something is coming. _

_What is this place…why am I running?_

Hermione sat up swiftly. Her breath ragged as she reached up with a shaking hand and wiped a few sweaty locks of hair away from her face.

"Hermione?" Someone whispered with mild concern, fingers grasped the Head Girl's shoulder.

Hermione whipped her head around and yelped as she came face to face or rather nose to nose with a masked stranger.

The person blinked at Hermione through the eyeholes and quickly pulled off the black mask on her face, revealing a frightened Maria.

Maria spluttered, "Hermione…I'm so sorry! Merlin, I didn't mean to scare you. I forgot I still had this mask on. It's one of those materials that are supposed to help you have dreamless sleep…I didn't mean…oh, Hufflepuff's toes, I'm sorry!"

She squatted on the ground and wringed her mask, glancing nervously at Hermione.

Hermione giggled, "It's alright, Maria! I just…I just had a bad dream and you just scared me, thats all. Hufflepuff's toes?"

Maria blushed and mumbled, "My sister said her toes were famous for something..."

"I don't want to know," Hermione laughed, pulling her cloak over herself.

Maria yawned loudly as she stood up to stretch and asked, "So, how are you feeling?"

Hermione wiggled her fingers and toes, and threw her legs over her makeshift bed and blinked a few times, surprised to see the rich soil directly below her. She groaned out loud as remembered the events that happened the day before and realized why she was now in the middle of a very unfamiliar forest.

Maria stared amusingly at Hermione's many facial expressions and laughed. "Tell me about it. I nearly screamed when I saw a lizard prodding my leg."

Hermione grinned, tugging on her shoes. "Not exactly a happy wake-up call."

Maria nodded animatedly, her nose wrinkled in grimace. "You know what? When I was little, there had been a time… a phase I suppose, when I wanted to runaway from home and live in the wilderness. Strange thought?"

Hermione smiled, watching a couple of birds flying above, as she said, "Not really. I remember I thought that too, but I have to say, it's not as wonderful as we would have thought!"

Maria grinned. "Yeah."

Hermione looked around, watching bemusedly as a lone squirrel scrambling around a pile of neatly folded clothes in the clearing. "Um…where are the others?"

Maria replied quietly, "Well, the Slytherins left before I awoke and Steve said he was going to check the area out."

Hermione blinked, rubbing her eyes wearily.

Screeches of a variety of birds rang from the treetops as the two witches sat in a companionable silence, contemplating what to do. Sunlight pierced through the canopy, the temperature already pleasantly warm. However, the nice parts of the forest ended there. Croaking, shrieking, and other highly ear-splitting sounds of wild creatures seemed to mash together creating a cacophony.

Hermione groaned, placing a hand across her forehead as she stood up.

Maria yawned again. "The noise is awful isn't it? I'm surprised the sounds didn't wake you up. Some annoying bird pecking my bag woke me up. Though I guess its not that bad. I went out and was able to find the stream that I think Tom mentioned yesterday. It's not too far actually. Want to go wash up?"

Hermione nodded gratefully, collected her knapsack and slung it over her shoulder as she followed Maria out of the clearing.

After they washed up, Hermione and Maria decided to find breakfast...or whatever was edible.

"I am impressed!" Maria said admiringly on their way back to their camp. "Not many people I know would know what kind of wild nuts are edible...me for one."

She paused, pushed away a low branch and admitted, "I've actually never been much of a outdoor camping person, despite what people think. I shudder to think how different this would be with only Stella. I'm glad you're here and is my friend."

Hermione bit her lip hard, hugging the nuts she had carried her arms. "I'm glad you're my friend too."

Maria grinned, but grumbled as she swatted away a swarm of little flies in front them. "If only my sister had packed me some of that muggle bug repellent stuff."

"What's your sister's name?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Adriana Diggory," Maria replied proudly.

Hermione's eyes widened to the size of saucers. Her eyes wandered towards the little star button on Maria's robes, "but...your last name is Davis!"

"It is," Maria explained. "But my sister got married this year to Kevin Diggory."

She giggled in her hand and whispered, "She already decided her kid's name. If they're having a girl, she'll name her Claire and if they're a boy, she'll name him, Amos."

Hermione nearly choked. Oh, they were definitely going to have a boy in the future. Hermione grimaced as she recalled the horrible fate of Cedric Diggory. She had not known him or been there to witness his ghastly fate, but tremendous sadness came over her as she remembered that the grandson of Adriana and Kevin Diggory and Maria's future relative was, in her time, dead.

"These do look rather unappealing, don't they?" Hermione remarked a couple minutes later, glancing at the mass of fuzzy round globes in her hands.

Maria glanced into her bag and then at Hermione's hands and chuckled. "Oh well, I'm so hungry I could eat a Hippogriff!"

As they neared the clearing, sounds of laughter and voices became evident.

"Oohh...that is incredible!" Someone squealed.

Hermione raised her eyebrows questionably. Sure enough, her suspicions were correct. There sitting on a picnic sheet were the three Slytherins and Steve was far off to the side, doing something she couldn't see.

"We're back!" Maria announced as she and Hermione dumped a portion of the collected food near a pile of blackberries that the Slytherins must have picked.

Stella smirked, wrinkling her nose. "Well, that's good to hear. Where were you two? You've been gone so long, I thought you both surely got eaten. Then again, Maria probably will in the near future, considering her lousy survival skills."

Maria turned scarlet, but didn't say anything.

"We washed up in the stream an went to find breakfast." Hermione replied irritably. "Where did you go?"

Xavier reached idly for a nut and replied with a charming smile, "We went up to the stream too."

"Really?" Hermione said. "I didn't see you guys there."

Tom Riddle shrugged, the tips of his black hair looking slightly wet. "It's not that small. We were probably in a different area."

"Yeah. Now could you please leave?" Stella asked irritably, sending Hermione a scathing glance. When neither Maria nor Hermione made a motion to leave, she scooted nearer to the Slytherin heir with an eager look for more conversation.

"Not like we want to stay with you," Hermione muttered, taking a couple of nuts and berries as Maria sat on her makeshift bed and rummaged through her bag.

Hermione carried a bundle of nuts and berries towards Steve. He seemed to be busily sawing a chuck of wood with his rusty pocketknife. She observed his work up close and noticed various shapes and lines chiseled in it.

"Its Maria," She said in awe as the features began to pronounce themselves.

Steve turned scarlet and nodded, his bright, blue eyes darted towards Maria's direction and then self-consciously, he covered the unfinished artwork from Hermione's view.

"Not too good," He mumbled humbly after thanking Hermione profusely for the food.

"I like it. It looks wonderful," Hermione said honestly.

Steve glanced uncertainly at the wood and then smiled at Hermione, "Thanks, I suppose it looks okay…I've never carved faces before."

He let out a rushed breath. "See?" He said, handing her a large knife he carved out of wood. Hermione flipped it over across her hand, she slid an index finger across the blade and was impressed at the craftsmanship.

"It looks so real!" She exclaimed, handing it back with awe.

Steve beamed, twirling his carved knife between his fingers in a pleased way.

After lunch, the group decided to separate to explore further. However, they met again with the same result; no sign of civilization. Evening arrived and Steve and Xavier offered to find food. Tom Riddle managed to rid himself of Stella and the girl trampled unheeding through the bushes with Maria, uncomplaining and smiling as Maria calmly attempted to explain what type of berries to find.

Hermione was left with Tom Riddle.

"It's unfortunate we can't use our wands." He stated crisply, crouching near a pile of wood for the campfire.

Hermione glanced at him, not at all surprised at the bitter tone that suddenly upheld his voice. She was silent as she comprehended his resentment. Of course young Voldemort would hate the idea of wands being useless. After all, it probably made him feel like a muggle. She clenched her fists, finding this thought very unpleasant.

Hermione frowned, suddenly realizing why she felt uneasy through the entire day. The forest is suppose to be magical, but no magical creatures had appeared so far...it was almost as if they were hiding and waiting for a perfect time to come out.

"I thought of that too." Tom said, shattering her reverie.

Hermione jumped, turned her head so her eyes met with his amused ones. Did she only say that last part aloud?

"And...your opinion is?" She asked gamely.

He smiled somewhat patronizingly and replied with a theoretical question, "How can you prepare yourself against the unknown?"

Hermione pursed her lips and said nothing.

_You can't._

The question however hung above her head as each minded their own business. She sighed inwardly and plopped onto the ground, pulled out a book out of her knapsack and began reading.

"Triumph Over Obscurity?" Tom Riddle asked with eyebrows raised.

Hermione looked up blankly until she realized he was referring to the title.

"Where did you get it?" He questioned, looking immensely curious.

"I asked Dumbledore for it." She replied carelessly.

The strange smile Hermione saw yesterday reappeared on the heir's face as he mumbled something spiteful about Dumbledore underneath his breath.

"Talking to yourself, Riddle?" Hermione asked testily. "I hear it's a sure sign of insanity."

He replied pleasantly, "Than you must be insane because I clearly remember someone saying and I quote, "The forest is suppose to be magical, but no magical creatures had appeared so far...'"

Hermione fumed silently.

"Anyways," Riddle smirked, "the book is interesting, isn't it?"

She nodded. "It is quite fascinating. It is amazing to read about famous wizards and witches in other cultures; their way of life was so different from ours.

Hermione was secretly pleased someone else had heard of the book. Harry and Ron never read a book she hadn't, not that they would ever read in their spare time anyways. Tom Riddle told her slyly, " Indeed. Although, the sequel is more of use, the _Repfoe _spell in the sequel, Obscurity and Minds is one of my personal favorites."

Hermione looked at him in slight surprise. "Really? The spell works very well, the spider just..."Hermione stopped abruptly, dismayed as she just realized she just admitted to trying out an illegal spell.

"Yes…go on," Tom Riddle murmured, leaning closer as he stared at her with newfound interest.

Hermione panicked as she tried to conceive a lie, but end up replying weakly, "So…I found out that overall, it is a very interesting spell."

Even she knew that was lame.

"That interesting?" He whispered, his deep, dark eyes seem to dance with fire.

Hermione shook her head, not enjoying the attention she suddenly brought upon herself.

"It's a very complicated and long spell," He remarked casually, like he was chatting about the weather. "I'm surprised you even know about it. The book is not even in the restricted section of the Hogwarts library, and it certainly isn't for sell in the same store where we buy our textbooks. Of course, most importantly, not many people would know a spell that would cause a person to feel a sudden bout of severe pain followed by a sharp decrease in energy."

Hermione refused to reply as she tried to block out his stare by concentrating in her book. Riddle chuckled, but left her alone. She cursed in her mind, furious at her careless slip-up. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she closed her eyes and exhaled heavily.

After a few moments of silence, she heard a crackle of a just lit fire and saw orange and reddish flames dance in her vision. Hermione glanced up and blurted, "How did you get a fire started?"

Riddle crossed his arms over his chest and studied her, before sighing impatiently and pulling out a green colored lighter. He clicked it on in front of her face. She frowned.

_A muggle device_

"Well... I didn't know you smoked..."

"I don't," Riddle answered calmly as he placed the lighter back into his pocket.

"...why did you bring the lighter?"

He half smiled as he leaned close to her face. "One, I might be in a situation we are in now and two, you just never know when I'll have to set something on fire." He replied smoothly, a chilling gleam in his eyes.

* * *

Hey everyone...okay, so um, I've had this chapter in my documents for about **a year**. Yeah, I actually did finish writing this chapter the week after I last updated. I'd rather not bore you all with all the excuses, but life has just been a pain and I haven't had time to write. 

I don't like this chapter and there is a huge chunk of the Hermione/Tom conversation missing because my computer is completely messed up. I can't promise, but I'll try to fix this chapter soon.

I didn't change anything in this chapter since last year so I apologize for all grammatical mistakes. I've recently looked over this story and I couldn't help but cringe while I was reading. When I have time, I'll either revamp this whole entire story or even delete it. :P

To my reviewers...I don't know what you guys saw in this story, but you guys absolutely rock!

**Thanks to: **Gywnn-Potter, Ice-Phoenix-Tears, myzteek, Zaralya, ashley48506, Stella, Taren, Only I, Cheri, Rea, Merja, hersheykisses, Artemis1000, Dreaming One, kura52, Jen058, topps, Vera-Sabe, Bluberry-Gurl, Klooooona Jedusor, EternityCircleSisters, Kat, encantada, heila, animerocksjapanrocks and those who e-mailed me.


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